Metro Manila, Philippines — The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) seized several hog shipments showing clinical signs of African Swine Fever (ASF) since Thursday, Aug. 15, as the government ramps up border controls to contain the rapid rise of ASF cases in the country.
In a statement on Sunday, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the BAI intercepted two trucks at checkpoints in Commonwealth, Quezon City, and Malanday, Valenzuela, on Saturday.
“One of the trucks was found carrying 38 hogs, while the other had 11,” the DA said. “Upon inspection, it was discovered [that] one of the trucks was using a recycled Local Shipping Permit while the other was transporting pigs that showed clinical signs of African Swine Fever.”
The agency added the pigs are being subjected to testing for the disease.
The DA earlier said the BAI on Thursday intercepted three trucks in Quezon City checkpoints with transporters presenting fake documents.
In separate statements, the DA said one truck contained 87 hogs while the other had 14. The pigs from the first truck were ASF positive while those from the other truck showed clinical signs of the disease. The swine were condemned, the DA said.
The other truck was transporting 60 pigs allegedly from Quezon province for slaughter in Caloocan City.
As of Aug. 8, there were 251 barangays across 22 provinces in the country with active ASF cases, data from BAI showed. North Cotabato, Occidental Mindoro, and Batangas have the most number of affected barangays.
The DA has made an emergency procurement of ASF vaccine doses as it rushes to address the surge.
